Sam

   / Sam #1  

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Sep 27, 2005
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Sam had ear mites. I suspected that he did, and when I found him one morning with a hematoma on his ear I knew that I was right. Not only that, he was covered with fleas. It's like the house we moved into had millions of fleas in the dirt just waiting for some unsuspecting family to move in and provide a dog so that they could feast in earnest.

Sam was the best dog ever. A great, heavy, blonde lab, he was intimidating to those who didn't know him and was fiercely protective of the house and the kids. I never met a smarter dog. He would follow me when I hung clothes on the line, and in between sitting down to scratch at those infernal fleas, he would retrieve the clothespins I dropped, placing them carefully in the laundry basket. He knew how to play hide and seek, and would get between the kids if a squabble ensued that deteriorated into physical combat. Sam wasn't having any of that. Not on his watch.

I remember once I took him walking.I let his leash drop to the ground so that he could roam a bit. We were close to home, he was safe. He immediately went to the back of a neighbor's car that sat parked in the driveway and squatted.

"Uh uh, Sam....not there." I said in a level voice. He stopped instantly and moved to a bush nearby leaving his offering in a neat pile out of harm's way.

"Want me to get that...?" I asked the neighbor who had come out to check his mail.

"Nah." He said. "No harm done." Sam sat and scratched. Oblivious.

I checked into the once a month treatment for fleas. Sixty dollars. That would almost pay the light bill. We were so poor. Three small mouths to feed, doctor bills, diapers. I did the best I could by bathing him, which did little more than dry out his lovely coat. I wanted to do better by Sam but what could I do?

When the hematoma popped up I became desperate. The dog was in such discomfort. Now he had this thing on his ear. We never once thought when we took the dog in that one day we would not be able to afford to care for him. I had no money to have him treated. I called the vet. Sixty dollar examination fee, plus meds. I envisioned this two hundred dollar vet bill that I had no hope of paying.

"Do you guys ever...you know, take payments?"

"Sure", replied the voice on the phone, "we will finance fifty percent of the balance."

"But how do I know how much that will be?"

"Well....you don't."

I sat looking at Sam all day out the window. He wasn't allowed in the house. He had never been in the house, so he was not house trained. By that afternoon I reached a decision. I would either take Sam to the pound where he could get the treatment he needed, and hope that he would find a good home, or I would find him a home myself.

I didn't know anybody to give him to. I didn't know what to do. That evening after dinner I loaded Sam in the van, drove him to the local supermarket and tied him to a post in the parking lot. Then I parked several rows away and watched him. I knew someone would take him, so I sat there and sobbed myself dry, even before the man walked up and squatted down next to him. I could see the man's mouth moving as he talked to Sam. Then I saw his eyebrows go up when he noticed the scrap of paper tucked into Sam's collar. He unfolded it and read......

'My name is Sam. I need flea medication and I have ear mites, but my owners cannot afford to take me to the vet, so if you decide to untie this leash, you better be prepared to assume the expense for my treatment.
I am a **** fine dog. I can fetch and retreive and play hide and seek. I can understand english almost as well as you so you need to talk to me on occasion. I love kids and I will love you too as long as you love me.'

The man paused and studied Sam for a moment and then he slowly slipped the peice of paper back in Sam's collar. Then he went into the store. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I had seen the man get out of an expensive SUV, he was well dressed, clearly not poor. Why didn't he take Sam. Why? Was his resume not good enough? Had I left something out?

I sat there with my heart in my throat and had just about decided to go get Sam and take him home and try something else, when the man returned. He had a woman with him. Together they knelt down and the man handed the woman the note. She read it and then stood and glanced around the parking lot. Women. We know each other. She knew I was there. I sunk down as low in the driver's seat as I could go and still be able to see. I watched, bawling my eyes out as Sam was loaded into the SUV. He seemed a little concerned but went willingly enough. I watched them drive away and then I drove home, crying every single inch of the way.

I don't know where Sam is now, but I do know that I did the best I could to find him a good home, and in my mind, he's stretched out on a nice brick patio somewhere, in the shade, with healthy ears, and no fleas, and I hope that someday he thinks of us and remembers the good times we had together, and doesn't hold it against me that I couldn't do better by him.
 
   / Sam #2  
Cindi ,
As I'm sitting here reading your post , Harley , my Chocolate Lab is under the desk by my feet . I can well understand how you must have felt . I don't know how you mustered the courage and decency to do what you did .
As an aside ,keep copies of what you post here . You have an ability to put things into print that is remarkable . Some day I'll pick up a book of short stories by Itsmecindi,and be able to say that i read it all on TBN . John
 
   / Sam #3  
Your writing is very good, I just wish I could convey thoughts like you do. Van Gogh used a brush to express his thoughts and emotion, you use a keyboard! You have a gift of being able to paint a picture of the real world in your writing. I am a prolific reader and enjoy a good book or article. Lamour, McMannus,Clancy, Hemmingway to mention a few and now itsmecindi.
 
   / Sam
  • Thread Starter
#4  
It helps a lot when you have had a hard life and are willing to tell the truth. Lots to draw from.... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I have led a pis* poor life and I always told myself that one day the suffering and the doing without and the slaps in the face would stand me in good stead and I would learn the reason why. Maybe this is it. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Today I am submitting my 'Chinaberry Wars' to Country Magazine. With any luck at all, they will want to buy it. If they don't I'll send something else. And then something else. I think it's time to try and justify the hours I have sat here at this computer watching my behind go flat. It's folks like you who gave me the confidence and courage to try. Thank you.
 
   / Sam #5  
I hit TBN every morning while I drink my first cup and the family sleeps.

I like TBN and I learn alot from everybody. That said.. Your posts are a lot more fun to read than "this thing rattled and fell off". /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Sam #6  
Hi Cindi,

Here’s a few more venues, I think would be perfect for your writing style… (and… $$$ money is money… /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif)

cover.gif


Farmers Digest
1003 Central Ave.
Fort Dodge, IA 50501
800-247-2000

07cover.jpg


Meredith Corp…

1716 Locust Street
Des Moines, IA 50309-3023
515-284-3000
Meredith Jobline, 888/424-2562
 
   / Sam
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I can't tell you what this means to me. I've never heard of these magazines and every door opened is a potential job. Thank you so much for going to that trouble for me. I will be contacting them today.
 
   / Sam #8  
Cindi, first I still have a lump in my throat about Sam. To my wife and me, our animals are our life. I can never believe how much we both love our animals. There's nothing I wouldn't do for them. But what you did, is remarkable. And animals have a sixth sense that we don't have, where they understand what people feel in their hearts. I know Sam knows what you did, and he loves you for it.

Now, as I try to swallow through this lump in my throat, I am incredibly happy that you have finally submitted one of your stories to a magazine. Let us know what happens when you contact the magazines that John suggested.

We're ALL pulling for you, Cindi!!! Maybe someday, when you're on the talk show circuit, promoting your latest bestseller book of short stories (or maybe a novel), you'll remember that your friends at TBN were all behind you!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Good luck, Cindi!!!

Please keep posting!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
   / Sam
  • Thread Starter
#9  
This happened ten years or so ago, and as you can see, it's still very vivid for me. The way I got through it was to visualize Sam, not as one of my kids, but as a freind. Freinds leave, move on, move away, on to bigger and better things. We can love them and still let them go off, despite the uncertainty. The best we can do is try to make sure they get off safely. We may never hear from them again, but we'll always remember them, right? So.

Thank you. I am in a veritable submitting frenzy even as we speak. I have no desire to be famous, in fact that would be alarming. I merely would like to supplement our income. That's all it's about. I reckon you'll hear about the rejections first for awhile. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
   / Sam #10  
Rejections??? I doubt it!!! Get ready, the checks should start coming in, soon. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hey, we here in TBN Land love to agree to disagree with each other, but the one thing we always agree on is your talent!!!

Keep us posted!!!
 

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